Full Circle: After the Rift Was Sealed Part 4
by TheConduit
Summary: Our characters learn that everything happens for a reason ... some happily, some painfully.
1. Chapter 1

Anna sat alone in the garden, tears streaming down her face. One moment, she had been in Richard's loving arms … the next, he'd left without a word.

She went over and over their conversation in her head. Everything had been perfect, or so she had thought. They had laughed, held one another, kissed … what could possibly have made him leave her like this?

…

Inside the palace, Darken stormed into his bedchamber. He paced furiously back and forth, cursing his brother's name again and again under his breath.

_It's not fair,_ he thought to himself._ I only meant to keep her happy … keep her safe!_ _Why does the Seeker always seem to shadow me wherever I go?_

Darken stopped pacing and looked at his reflection in the full length mirror standing in the corner of the room. This time, the bastard son of his father had nothing to do with his problem. This time, Darken had only _himself_ to blame…

He snarled, grabbed his jeweled wine goblet from the table beside his sitting chair, and flung it against the wall, thinking its destruction would make him feel better. It didn't. Then he looked up, and saw the ornate wooden box lying on his bed. He snatched it up, hurried down the great staircase, and headed back outside the palace to the garden.

He would tell her the truth about her father … and then he'd tell her the truth about himself.


	2. Chapter 2

Cara thought she'd gag from the smell of the old woman's pipe smoke.

The three of them had followed her on horseback for miles, with Renae still lying unconscious in Jonathan's arms. Grace still had yet to tell them what they wanted to know about finding the Conduit, and she grinned back at Cara as if she'd read her thoughts. She blew a smoke ring back at Cara and jutted the pipe at an odd angle from her mouth.

They crested a small hill. In the distance, the towering form of Rahl's secret palace loomed over the countryside.

"You'll find what you're looking for there. Both of you," Grace said to Richard and Jonathan.

Richard was stunned. "What – in one of Rahl's palaces? Are you insane?"

Grace turned her gray mare to face Richard. "The Conduit is there, as well as the girl you lost. I told you what the girl's problem was, and I told you how to solve it. Now go – it's time to face your own destiny, as well as your older brother's."

"Wait … _Rahl_ has something to do with this?"

The old woman smirked. "Less than you think, but yes … he is part of the great circle." She looked at Renae, who was beginning to mumble. She turned to Jonathan. "You'd better hurry. Go now! Your girl's running out of time, and fast."

Richard looked at Jonathan, then Cara. "Let's go."

Cara moved her stallion to block Richard. "You're really going to listen to this … this … _old hag_? That's _crazy_! She hasn't told us a thing – hasn't helped us at all. Rahl's palace has got to be well guarded. _Too_ well guarded for the two of us and the lovesick scribe." She grabbed one of Richard's reins and yanked. "Don't do it, Richard. It's a trap."

Grace stared at Richard. Something stirred inside him, and somehow he knew that the old woman was telling him the truth. The solution _was_ right in front of him. He needed to find the Conduit, whatever it was, and it would save Renae. Then he would take it to Brother Marcus, who would protect it from the Keeper.

"Do you trust me, Cara?" he asked.

Cara gritted her teeth. "You know I do, Richard ... and if you're crazy enough to get killed, I'll follow you to death if I have to."

Richard smiled. "Then listen to me. Let's go."

Cara let go of his horse and dropped her own back to follow Richard and Jonathan. She turned back to give Grace a dirty look, but the old woman and her mare were gone. _This is not good_, she thought to herself.

Renae began to stir in Jonathan's arms, and he cried out in alarm. "Richard, she's waking up! We've got to hurry!"

"Do we even know what we're looking for?" Richard asked.

Jonathan shook his head. "I'm not certain. The scrolls mentioned a dark stone. Maybe it's a jewel of some kind. And there's something about a raven - the wizard Zeddicus said it may have something to do with the dark-haired girl."

The three rode on toward the palace and dismounted shortly before reaching the wall of a huge garden filled with colorful wildflowers. Jonathan laid Renae down on the soft ground.

He looked up at Richard. "Go, Seeker. I'll stay here with her."

Richard and Cara scaled the wall, dropped down behind a towering tree covered in fragrant pink blossoms, and readied their weapons before continuing on.

"I think we're looking for a needle in a haystack," Cara whispered.

Richard put his finger to his lips. He was staring at something in front of them … and it was clear to Cara that it was something important. She turned to see what it was.

Approximately twenty paces ahead, the raven-haired girl wept bitterly. Standing before her was the towering visage of Darken Rahl.


End file.
